Check what it added up
See which numbers the computer has decided to add, and put it right when the guess is wrong.
When you press Add up, the program guesses which numbers you meant and draws a moving dotted line round them. It is usually right. The two seconds spent looking at that line is the difference between a total you can trust and one you cannot.
Key points
- Read the dotted line before pressing Enter.
- Correct the run of boxes when the guess has caught a heading or missed a row.
- Tell a live total from a typed-in number by looking at the wide bar.
What to remember
- The dotted line is a suggestion. You are allowed to correct it, and it is two small boxes.
- A total that is wrong is nearly always adding up the wrong boxes. The wide bar tells you which.
Try this
Find a total in a spreadsheet you already have and press the box it sits in. Look at the wide bar along the top. If it reads =SUM(...), that total is looking after itself. If it reads a plain number, somebody typed it, and it stopped being true a while ago.
Practice: Check what it added up. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.